20080423

An extremely rare El-Bart Dry Gin tin advertising sign (right), made in 1905 for the Wilson Distilling Co. Kaufmann & Strauss Co., Lithographers, of New York, sold for $60,500 at the sale of The George Cross Collection in Ann Arbor, MI.

“This was one of the finest collections of its kind in the United States,” said Mike Eckles of Showtime Auction Services. “Nearly everything Mr. Cross owned was in mint or near-mint condition. It was a treasure trove for serious collectors who were attracted to the high quality merchandise and the fact that every lot was sold without minimums or reserves. Everything went, regardless of price.”

Cross, who died several weeks before the auction, had a huge collection that included advertising and country store collectibles, Old West memorabilia, etc. By the end of the weekend, about 1,880 lots had changed hands.

The El-Bart Dry Gin sign, still housed in its original gesso frame, was the sale’s top lot. About 500 people made it to the event, in addition to the nearly 2,000 registered online bidders through eBay Live and iCollector.com. Also, more than 1,000 phone bids and about 1,500 absentee were recorded. The sale grossed about $2.7 million.

Other alcoholic-beverage-related highlights from the sale:

• A Buffalo Brewing Co. tin charger (right) in a gold gesso frame and in near-mint condition, was expected to bring about $12,000, but soared to $57,750.

20080421

Tonya Cornett (below) of Bend Brewing Co. became the first woman to win “Champion Brewer” honors in the bi-annual Brewers Association World Beer Cup competition just completed in Boulder, CO.

Her entries earned two gold medals to earn the title in the “Small Brewpub” category. The head brewmaster at the Oregon facility is a 2001 graduate of the World Brewing Academy, a partnership between Siebel Institute of Chicago and Doemans Institute of Munich, Germany, and holds an international diploma in brewing technology.

Overall, 644 breweries from 58 countries and 45 U.S. states were up for awards with 2,864 beers entered in 91 beer style categories. The top three entries in each category won gold, silver and bronze medals. In addition the competition gives “Champion Brewery” and “Champion Brewer” awards in each of five brewery categories based on the medals won by each brewery. Brewers from the United States won 185 of the 268 style category awards and four of the five Champion Brewery/Brewer awards.

20080414

Check the code on the bottom of your Samuel Adams beer before you chug.

The Boston Beer Co. has recalled some bottles because they could be contaminated with pieces of glass. It says its inspectors found a problem with 12-ounce bottles at the Cincinnati brewery, however it said there have been no reports of injury.

The serial code is the letter "N" followed by the number 35 and the letters "OI."

Owens-Illinois Inc. has gotten involved in the recall, pulling back the glass involved because of alleged defects in the bottles.

O-I said its investigation found the bottles met its usual standards, but it said it would continue the look into the probelm. The bottles are believed to come from from O-I's Auburn, NY, plant, which supplies about 25% of Boston Beer’s bottles.

"Like genius, extreme beers defy easy classification, but you know them when you see them: barley wines ranging above 10 percent alcohol by volume, ultra-hopped ales and wood-aged beers — the traditional turf of wine and whiskey. Although "extreme" beers often have been linked to strong alcohol content, brewers say the label also applies to offbeat ingredients and zany brewing and aging processes."